


Turnabout Falls

by PiTheSpy



Category: Gravity Falls, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Ace Attorney/Gravity Falls, Bipper, Canon Divergence - Not What He Seems, Crossover, Little references and small spoilers for some cases, Objection, Phoenix Wright - Freeform, Pre-Episode: s02e11 Not What He Seems, SPOILER WARNING FOR CASE, Sticks with canon for the most part, turnabout
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-03-20 02:18:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18983200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PiTheSpy/pseuds/PiTheSpy
Summary: Phoenix Wright, ace attorney, is one of the best (and arguably strangest) defence lawyers around. With his trust in his clients and an assortment of weird and almost wacky cases under his belt, is it any wonder that he gets a call from out of state for a mysterious trial? Someone has stolen classified government equipment in a small town in Oregon called Gravity Falls. When he arrives, a girl called Mabel Pines begs him to defend her great uncle Stan Pines, the case’s main suspect. Phoenix accepts, but this may be the one case that’s too strange and weird to solve, even for him.Gravity Falls/Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney crossover case*Pre-episode/Canon divulge from Not What He Seems (though inspiration was taken)





	1. Chapter 1: A Strange Case and a Stranger Town

_July 15, 7:35pm - Gravity Falls, Oregon_

Ah, summer break. A time for leisure, recreation, and taking ‘er easy. Unless you’re Phoenix Wright.

The defence lawyer drove down an old road through a forest. A large sign with a hole in it read _‘Welcome to Gravity Falls! Nothing to see here folks!’_ loomed ahead. Phoenix gave it a curious look but continued on his way. Another sign to his right appeared, this time pointing to someplace called the ‘Mystery Shack’. Phoenix Wright turned right and followed the dirt road.

_The Mystery Shack… where his client was going to meet him._

It wasn’t that long ago that Phoenix was lounging in his office of Wright and Co., relaxing at a break between cases. Maya was out training to be a spirit medium, and Phoenix was determined to take the week off, catch up on some papers, the book Edgeworth had sent him recently, and that Steel Samurai fanfiction he was writing. Everything seemed perfectly peaceful, so of course that was when his phone rang. After the traditional ring of the Steel Samurai theme played out, Phoenix answered the phone.

He had barely gotten out the “Wright and Co. Law Office-” when an enthusiastic voice nearly yelled in his ear, “Hi I’m Mabel and I need your help!”

“Wha- Who?” Phoenix scratched his head.

“Mabel Pines! I heard you're the best lawyer around especially for weird cases and I reallyneedyourhelpmyGrunkledidn’tstealanythingIknowitbutnooneelsewilltakethecaseand-!” The voice, fast as it went, sounded like a young girl.

“Slow down!” Phoenix said.

“My Grunkle has been accused of stealing these secret government things though how can it be a secret if someone could steal it, right? No one will take the case though, and the trial is in three days!” The voice (Mabel, did she say her name was?) said.

“I’m not really taking any cases right now-”

“Please! I’ve tried everything, but everyone thinks Grunkle Stan did it, and if he’s sentenced, my brother and I will go into child services, and the summer will be over, and so many bad things will happen, and-”

Phoenix looked at a photo on the wall of his old mentor, Mia Fey. He could almost hear her voice; _‘Come on Phoenix, would you really turn down someone like this?’_

Phoenix sighed in defeat. “Okay. By the way, what is a ‘Grunkle’, what is the charges, and where is the trial?”

“THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!” The voice shrieked in a happy tone. “My great uncle Stan has been accused of stealing government stuff, and the trial is being held here in Gravity Falls!”

“Gravity... Falls?” Phoenix opened his laptop. “OREGON?!? But-”

“Thank you so much Mr. Wright! I’ll meet you tomorrow at the Mystery Shack!”

“Hey, wait-”

“Bye!” There was a click, and the call ended. Phoenix sighed. _‘Guess this is going to be a long road trip.’_

So there Phoenix was, exhausted after the 10-hour drive, with nothing but his luggage and his ace attorney badge, standing at the front steps of the Mystery Shack. Or, as the snapped off letter implied, the Mystery hack.

The door burst open and a 12-year-old wearing a sweater in the brightest shade of pink he’d ever seen (even pinker than the sweater he used to wear when he was young) jumped onto the porch, a trail of glitter following her.

“Hi _I’m Mabel! You must be Phoenix Wright! Thank you so much for taking Grunkle Stan’s case!”_

“Oh, um… you’re welcome.” Phoenix grabbed his bag and followed Mabel into the Mystery Shack.

 _Tidy_ was not one of the top ten words Phoenix would use to describe the shack. In fact, it wasn’t even in the top thousand, with the wacky mess of a gift shop. Mabel led him through the staff only room to the livable area of the shack, taking the stairs down to a guest room. “You’re welcome to stay here! Just whatever you do, don’t touch the carpet in the corner.” Puzzled, Phoenix looked at the rolled-up blue carpet in the corner but said nothing. He dropped his bag on the bed and walked with Mabel back to an area that looked like a living room.

“So Mabel, could you tell me about the case?”

“Oh hey dood!” A new voice said. Phoenix turned around, nearly jumping at the sight of a large man (baby? hamster?) that stood behind him. Mabel’s face lit up.

“Soos! Meet Phoenix Wright! He’s going to defend Grunkle Stan!” Mabel cheered.

“Really? That’s great!” Phoenix was crushed in a massive hug. When he was released and able to breathe again, he saw Soos clap hands with Mabel. Phoenix watched the pair. A flurry of movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned. A boy Mabel’s age, with brown hair and a hat with a pine tree on it that obscured his face, froze, and bolted up the stairs. Phoenix watched him with bewilderment, then was snapped back to attention by Mabel grabbing his arm and tugging him out the room.

“Soos! I need your help explaining the case!” Mabel said. She turned to Phoenix. “Soos is the handyman here at the Mystery Shack, which Grunkle Stan owns.”

“On it, dood,” Soos said. “So this apparently secret government base not far from the Mystery Shack was robbed two nights ago, and they think Mr. Pines did it, which honestly makes no sense because he was restocking the gift shop with me all night, but Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland arrested him and brought him to the local prison as a detention centre for now.”

“So what was stolen and how?

“Four barrels of some secret government thing, no one knows what exactly because it’s classified information or something, and apparently the thief just carted it all away without the guards or security footage seeing anything! At least, that’s what the Gravity Falls’ Gossiper says. There’s even a witness that has proof that Mr. Pines did it! They say he had… what’s it called again? Evennets? Eminent?”

“Evidence?”

“Yeah! Evidence against Mr. Pines!”

“The trial will be difficult, but I’m sure it will easy to show Stan is innocent,” Phoenix said. “After all, we have Soos’s testimony, the judge will have to believe his innocence!”

“Oh about that…” Soos said. “Mr. Pines was and might still be a bit of a con artist. It’s not too hard to believe he’d steal government stuff, especially for the townsfolk.”

Phoenix ducked his head. “Of course, these things can never be simple…” He shook his head. “The odds are stacked against us, but I promise I will do everything I can to prove your… Grunkle?... innocent!”

Mabel and Soos cheered. “So what are you going to do, Mr. Wright?” Mabel asked.

Phoenix scratched his head. “Well, usually I’d investigate the crime scene and surrounding areas to look for evidence or talk with my client at the detention centre, but it’s getting late. I’ll have to do that tomorrow before the trial.”

“Oooh!” Mabel clapped her hands. “I’ll go with you! I want to help in every way I can!” She stopped, a smile growing across her face. “In the meantime, I can introduce you to my brother, Dipper!” She jumped up and ran to the stairs that led up, probably to an attic. “Dipper!” Mabel called up them. There was silence. After a minute of calling, Mabel gave up and walked back to Soos and Phoenix. “He’s not answering. Probably has his nose stuck in that journal again!”

“Journal?” Phoenix asked.

“Yep! My brother’s a regular cryptid hunter, unravelling the secrets of Gravity Falls! I help him!”

 _‘Oh dear, what did I get myself into? Cryptids? Mysteries? Why does this sound like one of Larry’s kooky passions...’_ Phoenix thought.

“Since Dipper’s not coming down anytime soon, Soos and I will just teach you everything you need to know about Grunkle Stan and Gravity Falls in preparation for tomorrow’s trial!” Mabel said. “In exchange, you teach me about being a lawyer so I can be your assistant!”

Phoenix thought for a moment. “Knowing the townsfolk, Stan, and the town would definitely help for tomorrow’s trial.” he agreed. “Deal.”

And so, after a few hours of talking, Phoenix was more knowledgeable on Gravity Falls and the people (and in some situations, _things_ , according to Mabel, though she didn’t give much detail) that lived there. Mabel, who was quick to learn, was well prepped to be Phoenix’s assistant, and he welcomed the familiar idea of having someone else behind the defence stand with him against whatever crazy prosecutor would come all the way to this small town in the middle of nowhere for a seemingly simple and small case (though in hindsight, that made Phoenix the crazy defence that drove 10 hours down to Oregon to defend an old man from the government). After checking the time, Phoenix bade Soos and Mabel goodnight and headed to the guest room, determined to get a good start in the morning before the trial.

 _July 16,_ 8:50am _\- The Gravity Falls ‘Detention Centre’ (aka the building open for rent next to the police station)_

Phoenix wasn’t expecting much, but even then, Stan Pines was not what he expected. Sure, he’d seen his fair share of weird and strange over the course of his career, including a talking Thinker statue, Edgeworth being a friend (and then going a step beyond just a friend if you know what I mean), and Larry Butz (just Larry by himself was weird, but with his collection of interests and knack for appearing in almost every case… well, Phoenix thought he had seen it all). Heck, just that morning had been filled with strange things; Mabel telling him about her grappling hook (which apparently was legal to for a 12-year-old in Oregon to have, and wiki doesn’t say anything no matter how hard I googled, so apparently it’s okay at least in the context of the show), Soos mentioning Dipper was sleeping on the roof for some reason (looking for ‘Floating Eyeballs’, apparently. Only visible at night), and having to defend breakfast from what appeared to be a huge bat that Mabel called a Giant Vampire Bat.

But Stan Pines? Stan Pines was something else.

“So I told them ‘What? You think that was me?’, and those sharp suit wearing jerks said ‘Don’t play dumb with us, Pines.’, to which I replied ‘But I actually _am_ dumb!’ Can you believe the nerve of those guys?”

“So, Mr. Pines-”

“Call me Stan. Hey, has anyone told you your hair looks like a hedgehog? A spiky, blobby hedgehog? I can’t be the only one who’s noticed.”

 _‘Oh boy, this was going to be a long case.’_ “So, Stan, Soos already told me what you were doing the night of the theft, but to clarify...?”

“I was stocking the gift shop. I swear!”

Phoenix nodded. “I believe you, Stan. I just need to find the evidence that proves that to everyone else.”

Stan scratched his back. “Oh, that should be easy. The gift shop security footage.”

“Unfortunately, they’re missing. I was hoping you knew where they were…?”

“What? If they’re not in the security spot in my office then I don’t know where they are. Some freeloader must’ve taken them. Was it Soos? It probably was Soos.”

“It wasn’t Soos.” Phoenix sighed. This was going nowhere, and the trial was in two hours. “Is there anything you could tell me that could help with the case? Enemies you have, evidence I could use to find a contradiction?”

“Other then the security footage, I got nothing,” Stan said. “As for enemies… I lost count a long time ago. Main suspects? Those two government agents, Powers and Trigger, or Gideon, the little rat. They’d easily try to frame me.”

“Powers, Trigger, and Gideon, huh… I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, Stan.”

“Don’t mention it.”

 _July 16,_ 10:40am _\- The Gravity Falls ‘Courtroom’ (effort level: 20% more than the detention centre, so at least they were trying this time)_

“This is it, Mabel,” Phoenix said, standing in front of the doors of the courtroom. Between leaving the detention centre and now, Phoenix had tried to gather evidence, but the government facility was ‘completely classified and off-limits’, and any real clues had already been gathered at the hall and would be presented by Agent Powers and Agent Trigger. Not much to go on; then again, winging it had always been Phoenix’s best skill in the court, next to bluffing and objecting so hard a blast of air shook the courtroom.

“Are you ready to defend your Grunkle?”


	2. Chapter 2: The Trial Begins

_ July 16, 10:45am - The Gravity Falls ‘Courtroom’  _

 

As far as prosecutors go, Phoenix thought he was prepared for anything. From the ‘rookie killer’ with no hair, the cocky but classy Edgeworth who later became his friend (and boyfriend), and the literal murderer with a bullet in his shoulder, Phoenix had seen it all. 

 

But nothing could prepare him for the 3-foot tall southern demon child with a white hairdo that rivalled Louis XIV. 

 

“Well if it isn’t the Pines Family! What an interesting case for widdle ol’ me to solve!”

 

When Phoenix entered the courtroom with Mabel five minutes ago, she had been ecstatic, nearly jumping over the defence bench and clambering about in excitement. Now, however, she had an almost exasperation look on her face, and she stared down the little smug brat that sat behind the prosecutor's bench. 

 

“Gideon. What are  _ you _ doing here?” Mabel’s voice was as close to a growl as she could muster. 

 

Gideon pulled an innocent look that Phoenix wouldn’t have bought in a million years. “Oh, I just heard that Mr. Pines is having a trial and they needed a prosecutor! Naturally, I practiced some law on the side of being a psychic-”

 

“Being a  _ fraud _ he would need to know the law well…” Mabel whispered to Phoenix.

 

“Who would have thought you would be my opponent, dear Mabel!” 

 

“So you’re Gideon Gleeful.” Phoenix stepped in. Exchanging looks with Mabel, he recalled her rant about her ex-boyfriend and everything the little creep had done.

 

“And who exactly are you?” 

 

_ ‘His accent really is horrible…’  _ “Phoenix Wright, ace attorney and defence lawyer.”

 

“My, looks like I’ll be going up against a professional! Best of luck, Mr. Attorney~!” His innocent look dropped back into a smug, cocky ‘I already feel bad for you’ smile. “You’re gonna need it.”

 

The courtroom seemed to get louder, and Phoenix looked up at the jury where members of the town started gathering. He recognized a few from Mabel’s explanation, including a woman with a weird blue eye (Lazy Susan, though how lazy could she be if she came to a courtroom on a Saturday), a teenager with red hair (Wendy, a worker at the Mystery Shack who unfortunately shared a name with a certain Oldbag Phoenix was praying didn’t make an appearance in this fic), and a girl Mabel’s age with blond hair doing her best to look disinterested (though Phoenix could tell her eyes, holding a look of encouragement, where on the case and his defence assistant). 

 

“Order! Order!”

 

Phoenix did a double take. The old man sitting in the judge’s seat… no…

 

“J-Judge??? What are you doing in Gravity Falls???”

 

The judge blinked at Phoenix in surprise. “Oh! Mr. Wright! I didn’t expect to see you here.”

 

_ “I could say the same thing to you…”  _ “Um, I’m defending Mr. Pines, Your Honor.”

 

“Ah well, carry on. Ahem.” The judge quieted the jury. “The court is now in session for the trial of Stan Pines.”

 

“The prosecution is ready, Your Honour!” Gideon pulled his most innocent show face.

 

“Oh! Who is this child?” The judge asked. “My, aren’t you adorable.”

 

_ “He’s not that cute, Your Honour…”  _

 

“The name’s Lil’ Gideon, Gideon Gleeson, Your Honour! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

 

_ “Pleasure my ass…”  _ Phoenix wiped the exasperation expression off his face before stating, “The defence is ready, Your Honour.”

 

“Very well. Mr. Gleeson, your opening statement, please.”

 

“The prosecution will show the court that from 11:20pm to 11:55pm on July 13th, the defendant, Stan Pines, stole 4 barrels of government property from the not-so-secret base here in Gravity Falls. Mr. Pines, who as I recall from the Gravity Falls Gossiper is no stranger to fraud-”

 

“Takes one to know one,” Mabel whispered to Phoenix.

 

“Was caught at the scene by evidence, a witness, and a photograph! Your Honour, I see no reason to delay this trial other than my own satisfaction of watching the Pines family squirm to cover up their little mistakes, but I don’t want to be selfish, so you can hand down the verdict at any time!”

 

“Hmm… I would like to see this evidence first before making any conclusions…”

 

_ “That’s a first. Normally he’d be so persuaded that he’d hand out the verdict now and I’d be forced to object. He must have realized Gideon’s trying a little too hard. Either that, or he’s in a harsher mood, so I’ll have to be careful about avoiding penalties.” _

 

“I would like to move on to some testimony from this witness.” The judge continued.

 

“Your Honour, if I may, this case is a little  _ special _ as it involves the government,” Gideon said. “They would like to state some facts first, and I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of their opinions…”

 

“Oh! You’re right, Mr. Gleeson. Very well, the prosecution may call the government.”

 

_ “Government, huh? Hope they won’t be like Detective Gumshoes, or this might go on for a while…” _

 

“Oh! The government agents!” Mabel chirped on his right. “I haven’t seen them since the zombie incident!”

 

Phoenix nearly jumped out of the defence bench. “Z-Zombies?!?” 

 

“Don’t worry Mr. Wright! Grunkle Stan, Dipper and I defeated them with awesome karaoke singing!”

 

“I’m… not even going to ask.” Phoenix turned to the front of the courtroom, where two agents stood in front of the projector. 

 

“Agent Powers and Agent Trigger,” Mabel explained.

 

“Oh, Mr. Pines mentioned them!” Phoenix said.  _ “I’ll have to keep on eye on them…” _

 

“The prosecution calls forth Agents Powers and Trigger to the courtroom. Gentlemen, could you please explain to the court the little situation?”

 

Agent Trigger turned to his partner, and Phoenix swore he heard him whisper, “Did that small child just give  _ us _ orders?” out of the corner of his mouth.

 

Agent Powers stepped forward. “The small facility housing government supplies that lies approximately 4.5 miles from the Mystery Shack through the forest and road, was broken into two nights ago. Four barrels of government supplies were stolen, whose contents have only been disclosed in the case files for the judge, the defence, and the, ahem,” he looked at Gideon with a raised brow, “the prosecution, and will remain that way for security reasons. The two agents on guard duty were knocked out by a strike from behind, tied up, and locked in a small room for the rest of the night. As for the theft… Please direct your attention to the projector.”

 

A floorplan of a medium-sized room appeared on the screen. On the middle left wall was the door, in the top right corner were six barrels, and 3 dots representing security cameras blinked; two were positioned in the bottom left and right corners, facing the middle, and one was positioned in the middle of the top wall, also facing the middle. The camera’s lines of sight made a star missing the line across the middle

 

“This is the room where the theft took place. The security cameras are positioned so that there are only two small blind spots, one from the door to the bottom left corner and one from the middle of the right wall to the bottom right corner. The rest of the room is under constant surveillance, including the barrels,” Agent Powers explained. “In addition, the security cameras act on an alarm that is triggered if all three cameras stop working, either through cutting the power or by breaking them.”

 

“Why all three?” Phoenix asked. “Wouldn’t it make sense if the alarm triggers after one is broken?”

 

Agent Powers nodded. “Normally that would be the case, but the Gravity Falls base has to deal with certain… anomalies. It’s not uncommon for one of the security cameras to shut off, its power grid damaged, and the constant alarms caused exploitable security guard positions. Instead, the cameras run by on this system, meaning most thieves would break all three and trigger the alarm. However, this time, the thief either knew what they were doing or got extremely lucky, only breaking two of the cameras; the bottom right, and the top middle. We believe the thief, after using the door as a shield from detection when breaking the bottom right camera, used this path to avoid detection.” 

 

A cartoon trail of footprints appeared on screen, leading from the door, through the blind spot, tightly hugging the wall under the only still-functional camera (bottom left), and finally stopping at the blind spot next to the barrels, which were still in security camera’s vision.

 

“How did the thief get the barrels when they were still in the view of the security camera?” Phoenix asked, puzzled.

 

“The security footage shows the clever trick, as does the pieces of footage from the broken cameras,” Agent Trigger said, clicking a button.

 

The footage (July 13, 11:26pm) showed the six barrels, lined up along the wall of the top right corner of the room. A small object flew forward from the right of the cameras vision, latching onto the closest barrel and pulling it away from the camera’s eyes. Not long after, the object flew forward again, dragging the next barrel. The process repeated twice more, leaving two of the barrels behind. The only other thing visible was part of the rims of the barrels directly under the camera as they were slowly moved one at a time around the camera. No part of the thief was seen.

 

“The object, also identifiable by the two broken cameras as what destroyed them, is a grappling hook, an item sold at the Mystery Shack and easily accessible to Mr. Pines,” Agent Trigger said.

 

“A… grappling hook?” Phoenix looked at Mabel. “Don’t you have one?”

 

“Yep! It’s awesome, but I never thought it could be used for a bad purpose like  _ this _ ,” Mabel said. She squinted at the screen. “That one seems familiar though…”

 

“The thief was not as clever as they thought,” Agent Trigger continued. “A camera outside the facility that takes a photo when triggered by quick movement caught of picture at 12:02am of the thief carting away one of the barrels.”

 

A photo appeared on the screen. Through the darkened photo, the unmistakable back of Stan Pines was visible, with his signature hat, broad shoulders, and hands gripping the handles of a cart with a barrel on it. The barrel reached just above Stan’s chest, his shoulders towering around the rim with ease. 

 

“The cart was later found hidden in the forest, with scratch marks from the barrels and bits of wax found on the handlebars,” Agent Trigger said. 

 

“Your Honour, I think this is clear and decisive evidence that Mr. Pines is the culprit,” Gideon pulled himself partly onto the bench to look Phoenix dead in the eye. “I say we declare the verdict now so all the busy people of Gravity Falls can go home.”

 

“Hmm… the evidence is very clear…” The judge stroked his beard.

 

“Your Honour!” Phoenix sputtered. “There is still a witness, and the defence has a right to cross-examination!”

 

“True… very well, the prosecution may call its witness to the stand.”

 

Gideon plopped back down on the stepping stool he was using with a huff. “Fine. I call the witness to the stand. Please welcome Robbie Valentino to the courtroom, everybody!”   
  



	3. Chapter 3: Witnesses and Weirdness

_July 16, 10:50am - The Gravity Falls ‘Courtroom’_

 

Bizarre witnesses were a staple in Phoenix’s ~~games~~ career. False identities, wild personalities, and of course, Larry Butz, were common in his trials. In fact, it was strange when there wasn’t at least one crazy witness with an equally crazy testimony. But once in a while, a new type of witness would come around and surprise Phoenix. Robbie Valentino was one of those people.

 

Dressed almost completely in black, a stitched red heart hoodie, a shiny guitar, and looking both bored and angry at the same time, Robbie was the absolute definition of an emo teenager.

 

“Witness, if you could please state your name and occupation,” Gideon said.

 

“I don’t have to listen to you, dorkface,” Robbie retorted.

 

Phoenix had seen prosecutors lose their temper before, but Gideon definitely took the cake in the range of ‘most explosive’. He went on a minute rant over ‘who do you think you are?!?’ and ‘do you know who I am?!?’, as well as yelling so shrieky and loud that Phoenix had trouble understanding him through the accent.

 

“Order! Order!” The judge banged his gavel. “Mr. Gleeful, please refrain from yelling at our witness…”

 

Gideon pulled the innocent card again. “But Your Honour, I was merely defending myself! Older teens shouldn’t pick on younger kids!”

 

The judge blinked. “You’re right!”

 

 _‘No, I’m Wright! Your Honour, don’t fall for his act!”_ Phoenix shook his head. “Your Honour, are we continuing or…?”

 

“Yes yes. Witness, please state your name and occupation.”

 

“Robbie Valentino, lead guitarist in ‘Robbie V. and the Tombstones.’” Robbie strummed a chord on his guitar.

 

 _“His_ ~~_idle animation_~~ _guitar playing isn’t the worst. Emo rock isn’t really my style though, I prefer piano.”_

 

“So, Mr. Valentino-”

 

“Call me Robbie; my last name sucks.”

 

Phoenix had to stifle his sigh of exasperation; if he was getting this worked up at the start of the trial, then things didn’t bode well for the rest. “Could you tell us what you witnessed?”

 

**_/Witness Testimony: The Night of the Theft/_ **

 

“I was walking around the forest the night of July 13th, around 11:45pm. As usual, I had my phone and guitar with me. I saw a new path in the forest with wheel markings, and I decided to follow it. I came to an odd looking building with cameras on the outside, probably just past midnight. When I grabbed my phone to take a photo to show my friends, I saw something moving near the wall. Then I left and went home.”

 

“All right. Mr. Wright, you may begin your cross-examination.”

 

“Oh wow, I’m going to be part of a real cross-examination!” Mabel exclaimed to Phoenix.

 

Phoenix smiled. Something about Mabel’s enthusiasm reminded him of Maya. “Let’s find the contradictions that prove your Grunkle innocent!”

 

**_/Cross-Examination: The Night of the Theft/_ **

 

**“I was walking around the forest the night of July 13th, around 11:45pm.”**

 

Phoenix tapped his finger against his chin. “What were you doing in the forest that late?”

 

“I like to wander Gravity Falls at night. Something about the dark is so alluring,” Robbie said. He shrugged. “And I get inspiration for my songs. The woods behind the Mystery Shack feels so weird and dense, it’s perfect.”

 

“It’s true, he does wander at night. I’ve seen him before from the window in Dipper and my’s room,” Mabel said.

 

**“As usual, I had my phone and guitar with me. I saw a new path in the forest with wheel markings, and I decided to follow it.”**

 

“Wheel markings? Could you please elaborate?” Phoenix asked.

 

“I dunno, it looked like someone had plowed a cart or something through the bushes. I didn’t really care, as long as it led somewhere new and not totally boring.” Robbie ~~’s idle animation kicked in~~ strummed another cord on his guitar.

 

“Mr. Wright, that would line up with the cart used to wheel the barrels away!” Mabel looked worried. “Grunkle Stan couldn’t have been the one to push it though!”

 

“Then someone else pushed that cart. Don’t worry Mabel, you can count on me to figure out who!”

 

Mabel beamed. “You’re right, Mr. Wright!”

 

**“I came to an odd looking building with cameras on the outside, probably just past midnight.”**

 

“HOLD IT!” Phoenix yelled. “The crime was committed from 11:20pm to 11:55pm, meaning it couldn’t have been after midnight!”

 

“OBJECTION!” was Gideon’s screechy reply. “The actual theft was on July 13, but carting away the barrels easily carried onto the next day! The camera outside the facility caught a photo of Mr. Pines at 12:02am!”

 

Phoenix clenched his jaw. “Continue, Mr. V- I mean, Robbie.”

 

**“When I grabbed my phone to take a photo to show my friends, I saw something moving near the wall.”**

 

“Could you describe what you saw in further detail?” Phoenix asked.

 

“Nah.”  


“N-Nah?!?” Phoenix nearly reeled back in surprise.

 

“Why describe when I could just show you?”

 

“S...show?!?”

 

“I had my camera out already, and the movement looked strange. I took a few steps closer and snapped a photo.”

 

The courtyard bustled at the new information. “Order! Order!” The judge yelled. When it quieted down, he scratched his beard. “You… snapped a photo?”

 

“Well yeah, I’m not an idiot. Here.” Robbie handed his phone to one of the bailiffs, who scanned the photo. A minute later the photo appeared on the court screen.

 

The photo, taken at 12:10am, showed the front of the cart, with a barrel sitting on it. Nothing else could be seen except for a circular yellow light like a flashlight poking out to the left of the barrel.

 

“Your Honour!” Phoenix said. “I would like the witness to testify over this photo!”

 

“It’s just a photograph, Mr. Wright. I don’t think a testimony is necessary,” Gideon said. “Some people actually have lives they’re needin’ to get back to.”  


“Mr. Gleeful, while I appreciate your concern for your fellow townsfolk, I must say I am curious about the picture,” The judge said. “Mr.- er, Robbie, please testify to the court over this photo and what you saw.”

 

**_/Witness Testimony: The Photograph/_ **

 

“I got to the weird looking building past midnight. I took out my phone to take a photo, and I heard leaves crunching. There was someone wheeling away a cart with a barrel on it. I took a photo of them as they headed in my direction. I must’ve started the person or something because the flashlight was suddenly on me. They didn’t see me and continued walking, so I watched for a minute before getting bored and going home.”

 

**_/Cross-Examination: The Photograph/_ **

 

**“I got to the weird looking building past midnight.”**

 

“That checks in with the photo stamp,” Mabel said. “It must have happened after the facility camera got the back of ‘Grunkle Stan’ at 12:02am.”

 

**“I took out my phone to take a photo, and I heard leaves crunching.”**

 

“Where did you hear the leaves?” Phoenix asked.

 

“Obviously by the wall, Mr. Wright-” Gideon was interrupted by Robbie, who said, “Over to my right.”

 

“Your Honour, the defence is asking irrelevant questions! I demand they get a penalty!”

 

Phoenix had to stifle his yell of ‘You’re irrelevant!’, not wanting to aggravate the judge in case he felt like following Gideon’s ‘polite suggestion’.

 

“I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Gideon, but does it matter where Robbie heard the leaves?” Mabel asked. “The thief was by the wall headed toward the path they made.”

 

“Never throw away anything that could even remotely be evidence,” Phoenix replied. “Sometimes the smallest, most insignificant looking details are the most important.”

 

“Woah, so you found a contradiction already?? That’s so cool Mr. Wright!”

 

Phoenix scratched the back of his head. “Well… it’s not a contradiction yet…” Phoenix could almost hear “It might be later!”

 

**“There was someone wheeling away a cart with a barrel on it.”**

 

“Hold it! Could you describe this person?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Gideon chimed in with a smirk. “It was the defendant, Mr. Pines.”

 

 _“Gideon, if I wanted your opinion I would’ve asked you, not the witness.”_ The courtroom went silent, and Phoenix snapped out of his thought-retort. Everyone was staring at him in shock and surprise. Phoenix was confused for a second, wondering what he’d missed. Then he realized his mistake.

 

 _“_ ~~ _Oh crap that’s a mental line._~~ _I just said that out loud, didn’t I.”_

 

“Mr. Wright!” The judge, his eyebrows furrowed in anger, scowled. “That is NOT how you speak to a child! Penalty!”

Phoenix was left scrambling and sputtering, trying to salvage the situation. “Y-Your Honour, that’s not what I meant!”

 

Gideon was playing it up, close to tears and sniffling. As he wiped his eyes, Phoenix caught sight of the smug smirk under his arm.

 

“Don’t worry Mr. Wright!” Mabel patted his arm in reassurance. “We’ll shake it off and save Grunkle Stan!”

 

Robbie, who had been strumming his guitar rather awkwardly as the whole situation unravelled, spoke up; “So should I continue, or can I go. This court stinks.”

 

“I have half a mind to dismiss you, but I will choose to ignore the defence’s remarks-” at this, the judge gave Phoenix a whole-hearted glare, “and allow you to finish describing the person you saw.”

 

“Urgh, fine,” Robbie said, putting down his guitar. “Broad shoulders, tall, stood behind the cart, and was holding a flashlight or something.”

 

‘ “See, Mr. Wright?” Gideon crooned. “It’s Mr. Pines, clear as day!”

 

Phoenix made sure he had his teeth clenched and mouth closed before he thought _“Clear as a fog, not as day.”_

 

“Psst. Psst!” Mabel was prodding him in the arm. He learned behind the defence bench. “Mr. Wright! I was studying the photo Robbie took, and tried thinking about it like my brother Dipper would, with my best Dipper impression and everything-” She stuck a slightly chewed pencil in her mouth and screwed an expression of someone who either was a genius deep in thought or a lunatic about to come up with another crazy conspiracy to demonstrate. Spitting the pencil back out, she continued, “I noticed something off about the photo and Robbie’s description!”

 

Phoenix squinted at the court board, searching the photo for Mabel’s contradiction. “Are you sure? I don’t-”

 

Then it hit him. Something so obvious and yet so puzzling at the same time. A contradiction that could crack this case wide open. Phoenix mulled over this stunning new information for a second before turning back to Mabel.

 

“Mabel, you’re a genius!”

 

Mabel beamed. “Ah, thanks Mr. Wright! You’re really smart too!”

 

“I think we should finish cross-examining Robbie, see if anything else comes up, then unleash our secret weapon.”

 

Mabel jumped up and done in excitement. “I’ll go grab the confetti cannon to blast in Gideon’s face when we beat him!”

 

Phoenix blinked, processing her statement as she ran out of the bench into the lobby. “Hey Mabel, wait-!” She was already gone by the time his mouth had caught up with his brain, a first for him as usually it was the other way around.

 

**“I took a photo of them as they headed in my direction. I must’ve started the person or something because the flashlight was suddenly on me.”**

 

Now that Phoenix was paying attention, he could see another, albeit smaller contradiction. “HOLD IT!”

 

“Mr. Wright, with all _due respect_ -” Gideon’s tone made it clear that respect was the furthest thing from his mind, “the flashlight and cart are clearly facing the camera.”

 

“Exactly my point, Prosecutor Gideon.” Phoenix returned the smallest hint of a smug smile. “The flashlight is pointed at the camera, meaning…” He pointed at the photo. “The flashlight was already on the witness, contradicting the ‘suddenly’ startlement!”

 

Gideon laughed. “Simple grammar inconsistency. The witness isn’t what you’d call the town genius.”

 

_“Honestly, neither are you Gideon.”_

 

Robbie let out an indignant “How dare you! You want to go, punk?” before attempting (and failing) to climb over the witness stand and needing to be restrained by a bailiff.  

 

“Funny,” Phoenix countered, “because if I recall correctly, the witness’s next sentence was **‘they didn’t see me and continued walking, so I watched for a minute before getting bored and going home’**.” He slammed his hands on the defence bench. “How is it possible the thief didn’t see the witness when the flashlight was on them the whole time?!?”

 

The courtroom dissolved into chatter. The judge had to bang his gavel several times to get the room to quiet; “Order! Order!”

 

“The witness could have simply been mistaken for a tree, as he’s wearing black clothes!” Gideon argued.

 

“We have no proof that he was wearing black on the night of the crime!” Phoenix returned. “He could have been wearing bright orange for all we know!”

 

“HE’S A GOTH!”

 

“Order!” The judge yelled. “Mr. Gleeson, Mr. Wright, calm down, or I will be forced to assign penalties!”

 

“What do you say to this, Robbie?” Phoenix turned the attention to the witness stand.

 

“I-um…” Robbie strummed a note on his guitar, and a horrible out of tune noise filled the courtroom. Avoiding Phoenix’s gaze, he grumbled out an answer; “Fine. I don’t actually know if the thief saw me or not. I might have ran away. There was this sudden chill I got when I saw the flashlight on me, and it freaked me out.”

 

“That still proves nothing, Mr. Wright!” Gideon thundered. “So what if the witness is a spineless idiot? You don’t have any evidence to prove that it wasn’t Stan Pines that he saw!!!”

 

Gideon’s triumphant grin died slightly when he saw the smirk on Phoenix’s face. “Actually, Gideon,” the courtroom had gone silent, listening to Phoenix’s every word, “I do have proof.”

 

 _“Mabel better be ready with that confetti cannon, because we’re about to need it.”_  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who are wonder, 'oh crap that's a mental line' is a reference to the Ace Attorney anime dub blooper reel, in which Phoenix's voice actor messed up by saying a mental line in a regular tone.


	4. Chapter 4: Investigations and Discoveries

_ July 16, 11:05am - The Gravity Falls ‘Courtroom’ _

 

Phoenix wasted no time getting to the point. Okay, that was a lie; he took a second to savour in Gideon’s confounded, almost furious expression. Once he had the entire court’s attention, he pulled out the facility photo of the cart and ‘Stan’ and showed it to the court. Gideon burst into laughter.

 

“Oh man… oh, this is too good!” He wiped tears from his eyes. “Your evidence is just more evidence that Mr. Pines is the thief!”

 

“Not so fast, Gideon.” Phoenix tapped his figure to his forehead; a habit he’d accidentally picked up from Edgeworth. “There is no possible way both of these photos can be Mr. Pines.”

 

“What?!?” Gideon slammed his hands on the prosecutor’s bench.

 

“Mr. Wright, what are you talking about?” The judge blinked in confusion.

 

‘ **Broad shoulders, tall, stood behind the cart, and was holding a flashlight or something.** ’ That was the witness’ description of the thief,” Phoenix said. If this was a movie or a video game, some sort of awesome music would be playing in this pursuit of the truth. “It also matches that of the defendant, Mr. Pines.”

 

“See?! Your Honour, even the defence agrees that Mr. Pines is guilty!” Gideon shrieked. “You can pass the verdict-”

 

“HOLD IT! I wasn’t finished,” Phoenix interrupted. “There is one place this description doesn’t match.”

 

“Hmm? And where would that be?” The judge asked.

 

“The witness’s photograph!” Phoenix pointed at the screen, where the photo was still on full display. “If the defendant is ‘tall and broad-shouldered’, as evident by the facility photo and the witness’s testimony,  **_then he should easily be seen behind the barrels on the cart, but there is nothing else visible in the photo but the flashlight, the cart, and the barrel!_ ** _ ” _

 

The courtroom exploded into an uproar. Mabel ran in, tugging a small cannon behind her. Seeing the chaos, she grinned and fired the cannon into the air above the prosecutor’s bench. Confetti rained down on the absolutely furious face of Gideon Gleeson.

 

“ORDER! ORDER!”

 

“Mr. Wright! Do you think the jury is as dumb as you are?!?” Gideon yelled. “Obviously the thief is in the photo! The witness described Mr. Pines, and someone is wheeling the cart and holding the flashlight! Or are you saying a  _ ghost _ magically spirited the barrels away?”

 

“OBJECTION! The thief is in the photo, though not in the way you’d expect!” Phoenix replied. “The reason the witness thought he saw the defendant was because the rim of the barrel on the cart in the dark looked like the build of Mr. Pines. The real thief is  **_behind the barrel, meaning they can’t be Stan Pines!”_ **

 

Phoenix stood back with a grin as he watched Mabel launch another confetti bomb around Gideon, who was fuming so hard he was shaking. In the jury stands, the townsfolk were going wild; one guy was chanting ‘Get em! Get em!’, the ‘disinterested’ blonde girl was smiling, Wendy was giving Mabel a thumbs up, and the rest were chatting the contradiction.

 

“ORDER!” The courtroom finally went quiet. The Judge looked down on the two benches.

 

“Your Honour,” Phoenix said, “the defence requests the trial be delayed to search for more evidence.”

 

“What?!?” Gideon was steaming. “Your Honour, this trial has already been decided by countless evidence! One dark photo-”

 

“Very well, Mr. Wright,” the judge said. “In light of this new information, the court will be delayed until this afternoon. Dismissed.”

 

“Yay!!!” Mabel jumped up and high-fived Phoenix as Gideon stormed off in a rage, muttering ‘the battle may be won for now, but the war was far from over’.

 

_ July 16, 11:10am - The Gravity Falls ‘Courtroom’ Lobby _

 

“Mr. Wright, we did it!” Mabel cheered. 

 

Phoenix couldn’t help but grin at her excitement, despite knowing that they’d only won one battle out of many. 

 

“Great job, Mabel!” Phoenix turned as a boy walked up to them, the same boy who had bolted up the stairs the day before at the Mystery Shack. He looked the same as the night before, down to the sunglasses he fidgeted with like he wanted to pull them off. 

 

“Oh, bro-bro! You’re here!” Mabel pushed the boy in front of Phoenix. “Mr. Wright, meet my brother Dipper!” 

 

“Nice to meet you, Dipper,” Phoenix said. “I promise I’ll do everything I can to prove your Grunkle innocent.”

 

Dipper smiled. “Thanks, Mr. Wright. Although, I’m worried that it’ll be harder than you expect.”

 

Phoenix blinked. “What do you mean by that?”

 

“I was out on the roof on the night of the theft and saw Stan leaving the shack,” Dipper explained.

 

“You- what?!?” Phoenix nearly fell over in shock. “Do you have any idea where he was going?”   
  


“Not really.” Dipper paused, then as an afterthought continued, “I’m still searching for answers.”

 

“Well well well, isn’t  _ this _ interesting.”

 

Gideon sauntered through the lobby, the insufferable smirk back on his face. Although he couldn’t see Dipper’s eyes through the sunglasses, he could have sworn they narrowed, similar to the look Mabel was giving the fraudy prosecutor. 

 

“A surprise witness against Mr. Pines, and it’s his own nephew. How poetic and utterly ironic that I defeat my arch-nemesis with his closest ally!”

 

“Like Dipper would ever testify for you, Gideon,” Mabel said.

 

“I’m afraid he doesn’t have a choice unless he wants to end up in jail next to your Grunkle under obstruction of justice.” Gideon tried (and failed) to hide his triumphant grin. “I’ll make you a deal; I was going to go down to the detention centre to gloat in Mr. Pines’ face, but I’ll let you talk to him instead while I enter Dipper here into the witness list.”

 

Dipper nearly laughed. “Not much of a deal, Gideon.”

 

“Too bad. You’re coming with me, Pines.” Gideon grabbed Dipper’s arm and dragged him away. Dipper shrugged helplessly at Phoenix and Mabel as he was pulled out of the lobby.

 

“And there goes possibly decisive evidence into the prosecution’s twisted little hands.” Phoenix shook his head. “Wouldn’t be a normal case if everything wasn’t stacked against the defence.”   
  


“Don’t worry Mr. Pines, my brother won’t willingly say anything bad against Grunkle Stan!” Mabel said.

 

“I hate to say it but I have to agree with Gideon; Dipper can’t withhold information.” A thought struck Phoenix.

 

“Hey Mabel, why does Dipper wear sunglasses indoors?”

 

“Oh, he usually doesn’t, but he pulled a couple too many all-nighters looking through the journal and searching for anything about this now smashed laptop we found in a secret underground shelter that he got a doctor’s subscription so he doesn’t damage his eyes from bright lights,” Mabel explained. “He’s had it for about a week and he’s completely paranoid. He really doesn’t like wearing them. I promised I’d check at random and pull off the glasses every day.”

 

Before Phoenix could ask what she meant by ‘check’, the Steel Samurai theme erupted in the lobby. Phoenix quickly grabbed his phone, ignoring Mabel’s squeal of happiness, and answered the ringing. “Phoenix Wright, defence attorney speaking.”

 

“Hello, Wright,” a familiar voice replied.

 

“Hey Edgeworth, what’s up?” Phoenix sat down in a chair against the wall.

 

“The prosecutors training just finished, and I wanted to let you know I’ll be leaving in the next few hours. I’ve checked ahead for the journey home and everything is in order, including the hotel,” Edgeworth said.

 

“Oh right, you’re up in Washington for that mentorship program! I completely forgot!” 

 

“I would hope that means you have a case and that you aren’t noticing my absence because you’re stressed.” Edgeworth’s tone was deadpan and serious, with a hint of teasing.

 

“You’re right, I do have a case. A high-level theft.” Phoenix drummed a hand against his leg. “I’m actually up in Oregon right now, in a small town called Gravity Falls.”

 

“Really? Perhaps I’ll stop by on my way back to the office if you’re still there,” Edgeworth said. “I’m surprised you accepted a case out of state, much less a theft.”

 

“Well, I just-”

 

“Let me guess; you just had to because your client is innocent but no one else believes them, and someone had to step up for justice.”

 

Phoenix scratched the back of his head, thankful Edgeworth wasn’t there in person to see his flustered, sheepish expression. “Pretty much, yeah.”

 

“Some days I don’t know what to do with you, Wright.”

 

“You’ve stuck with me so far, Edgeworth, so you might as well stick around a little longer.”

 

There was a chuckle on the other end of the phone. “I’ll see you this afternoon then, Phoenix.”

 

Phoenix smiled. “I’ll see you soon, Miles.”

 

The call ended, and Mabel, who had been holding in a squeak so long she was starting to sound like a leaking balloon, shrieked in excitement. “I don’t know who that was but it sounds fun and exciting!!”

 

“That was Miles Edgeworth, my… boyfriend, ” Phoenix explained, his face flushed red. “He’s up in Washington mentoring some new prosecutors so they don’t turn out corrupt or horrible and he’s going to drop by today.”

 

Mabel clapped her hands. “I can’t wait to meet him!”

 

Phoenix laughed, picturing the scene of hyperactive, sweater-loving Mabel meeting classy and sophisticated Edgeworth. “I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic.”

 

Mabel grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the door. “Come on, let’s go grab lunch and tell Grunkle Stan about the court!”

 

_ July 16, 12:45pm - The Gravity Falls ‘Detention Centre’ _

 

After grabbing some food from an…  _ interesting _ restaurant run by Lazy Susan, Phoenix and Mabel updated Stan Pines on the events of the courtroom. To no one’s surprise, Stan laughed when he heard Gideon was prosecuting and only stopped when he realized they weren’t kidding, only to laugh again when he heard about the circumstances of Phoenix’s unfortunate penalty. As for the evidence and Dipper’s testimony, Stan was just as confused as Phoenix.

 

“Why the kid says he saw me outside is beyond me,” Stan said. “I swear I was inside the Mystery Shack the whole time!”

 

Phoenix nodded. “I believe you Mr. Pines, and I think that the ‘Stan’ Dipper saw was a set up of some kind. Here, look at this photo.”

 

Phoenix handed Stan the facility camera photo. He mulled over it, inspecting the work.

 

“Whoever this thief did, they’re clearly an expert,” Stan said. “Just look at the fine detail on that con-work! It looks just like me! The broad, defined shoulders, the muscle and prime physique, the initials M.P. carved into my neck, the-” Stan paused, then yelled, “HEY WAIT A MOMENT!” Stan pointed at the photo with vigour. “That’s no costume double!”

 

Mabel gasped. “My greatest masterpiece!”

 

Phoenix had no idea what was going on and was struggling to keep up. If his trials taught him anything, it was that the right evidence could go a long way in solving the case. But this… this was like someone speedrunning a video game, and admittedly Phoenix was more than a little lost.

 

“Wax Stan!” Stan and Mabel yelled at the same time.

 

Phoenix was still processing. “Did you just say-”

 

“Wax Stan!” Mabel stood up on her chair and shook Phoenix’s shoulders. “I made Stan this big wax statue for this wax museum exhibit the Mystery Shack used to have, but then things got out of hand; wax Stan was murdered, wax Sherlock Holmes tried to kill me and Dipper, and we eventually melted all the statues but wax Stan, who we fixed!”

 

“Not going to lie, you had me in the first half.” Phoenix shook his head. “So where is this ‘wax Stan’?”

 

“I put him in the gift shop so that everyone could appreciate my beauty- I mean Mabel’s artistic skill,” Stan said. “Come to think of it, I didn’t see him on the night of the theft, though he gets moved around the Mystery Shack a lot.”

 

“So anyone could just take wax Stan?” Phoenix asked.

 

“Are you saying the security of the Mystery Shack is that horrible? Because you’re right, it totally is.”

 

“Eureka!” Phoenix clapped a fist to his palm. “The facility photo was a fake planted using wax Stan so that the true culprit had a scapegoat! That’s why Robbie’s photo didn’t show you; the thief wasn’t expecting a witness’s camera!”

 

“Mabel, I don’t know where you found this guy or how you’re paying for him, but he’s good!” Stan said. “Definitely a lawyer I wouldn’t want prosecuting if I was actually guilty of a crime, which I of course never have been in my life before.”

 

“So who do you think set you up?” Phoenix asked.

 

“Like I said this morning, I have a lot of enemies. If the thief hid behind the barrel, they were either smart, lucky, or short. I’m going with the last option because I’m the first two. I say it was Gideon. The little creep’s had it out for me since day one.”

 

“Wouldn’t be the first time the culprit was the prosecution,” Phoenix mused. He checked the time. “We better get back to the courtroom lobby, Mabel. I want to check through the case files before the trial continues.”   
  


“Alright! Bye Grunkle Stan! See you later!”

 

“Bye kiddo, good luck!” 

 

_ July 16, 1:10pm - The Gravity Falls ‘Courtroom’ Lobby _

 

“So we have about 35 minutes until the court is back in session,” Phoenix said, reading through the files. “So that’s what was stolen. Interesting.”

 

“What was it, Mr. Wright?”

 

“Technically I can’t tell you because it’s classified information, but that Agent Powers guy did say that the files are only to be disclosed with the judge, the defence, and the prosecution, and you’re part of the defence,” Phoenix said. He whispered the answer to Mabel in case someone who wasn’t qualified overheard  or was reading right now . 

 

Mabel tugged at her sweater sleeve in confusion. “But what would Gideon want with  _ that _ ? We are going with Gideon for now, right?”   
  


“Gideon’s definitely the most plausible, and it might not even be the contents of the theft but rather jailing Stan that’s the end goal.”

 

“Who’s end goal?” A voice said. Dipper walked over. “I managed to give Gideon the slip, just slid away under his radar.”

 

“Dipper, I’m so glad you’re here! You won’t say anything to incriminate Grunkle Stan, right?” Mabel said.

 

“Legal systems are weird about lying in court, so I have to tell the truth about what I saw,” Dipper said with an apologetic shrug.

 

“And you saw  **Stan Pines** leave the Mystery Shack from the roof?” Phoenix asked.

 

“Unfortunately, yes.”

 

Phoenix was about to explain the wax Stan theory when there was a tug in his pocket. He slid his hand into this jacket, closing around a small vibrating object; Maya’s magatama. There was a flash and the room seemed to darken. Chains shot from nowhere, crossing to form a barrier between him and Dipper Pines. Four red locks clipped shut, followed by a single black lock in the middle. 

 

Phoenix took a step back in shock, staring at the spiritual chains the magatama showed. 

 

_ Psyche-Locks. _

  
  



	5. Chapter 5: The Mystery Behind the Psyche Locks

 

_ July 16, 1:15pm - The Gravity Falls ‘Courtroom’ Lobby _

Out of all the places Phoenix expected to see Psyche-Locks, Dipper Pines was not one of them. Sure, Larry Butz had his own fair share stupid lies, and it wasn’t uncommon for a lie to be harmless, but four red locks and a  _ black lock _ ? Something strange was going on in this town, and Phoenix was determined to solve it.

 

But what was it about  **‘you saw Stan Pines leave the Mystery Shack from the roof’** that caused the chains to appear? Phoenix gritted his teeth; Gideon must have had some role in this. Based on what Mabel told him about Gideon’s fraud, use of TNT, and apparently a giant robot in his own image, blackmail wasn’t that far of a stretch. It would explain the four red locks. But why a black lock? Perhaps because he saw wax Stan instead of Stan Pines?

 

Dipper and Mabel’s confused stares snapped Phoenix out of his thinking. Of course, no one else could see the Psyche-locks, so he had been staring blankly into space for the last minute. 

 

Not wanting Dipper to freak out over the ‘blackmail Psyche-Locks’, Phoenix panicked, sliding back the arm of his suit and staring at his wrist. “Would you look at the time! Mabel and I better get to the defence bench!”

 

“But Mr. Wright, you don’t have a watch-” Mabel followed Phoenix as he snatched the case files and practically ran into the courtroom.

 

Once they were safely behind the bench, Phoenix let out a sigh of relief. “It’s not that I don’t trust your brother. Something just seems…” He struggled to find the words to explain the Psyche-Locks. “I think Gideon might have a hand in Dipper’s testimony. This trial isn’t going to be easy.”

 

Mabel gasped. “That no-good, big mean jerk! Do you think he’s blackmailing my bro?”

 

Phoenix nodded. “We need to watch his testimony carefully for contradictions. He might be forced to lie against Stan.”

 

Townsfolk slowly filled the court. Phoenix caught sight of Soos, who waved. Next to him was the other Mystery Shack worker, Wendy, who returned Phoenix’s thumbs up. Mabel waved up at someone else, and Phoenix followed her cheerful gaze to the disinterested blond girl who was failing to keep the look of interest off her face this time. This time Mabel got the girl to crack a small smile. 

 

The judge entered and quieted the room. Gideon waltzed in with a triumphant smirk that confirmed Phoenix’s theory that he had something to do with the Psyche-Locks.

 

“The court will now resume the trial of Stan Pines,” the judge said. “Mr. Wright, have you found any evidence that will keep this trial running?”

 

Phoenix nodded. “I have, Your Honour.”

 

“Evidence that will quickly be refuted by the witness  _ I  _ found.” Gideon hid a laugh behind his hand. “Your Honour, the prosecution requests bringing in the witness now, since what they have to say shuts down any measly piece of ‘evidence’ the defence may have found.”

 

“Alright,” the judge said. “Mr. Gleeful, please bring your witness to the stand.”

 

Quiet whispers burst around the courtroom as Dipper walked up to the witness stand. 

 

The judge blinked in surprise. “Isn’t this the defendant’s nephew? And why is he wearing sunglasses indoors?”

 

“Doctor’s note,” Gideon said, handing a certificate to the bailiff with a snicker. “It seems our witness here likes to pull all-nighters. He was awake on the night of the crime and witnessed the defendant, Mr. Pines, sneak out of the Mystery Shack.”

 

_ Dipper’s Doctor’s Note added to the court record: Prescription for sunglasses. Issued on July 10th for light sensitivity due to sleep-deprivation. _

 

The judge nodded. “Ah, that makes sense. Witness, please state your name and occupation.”

 

“Dipper Pines, current author of Journal 3 and Stan Pines’s nephew,” Dipper said. 

 

“Mr. Pines- er, Mr. Not-Stan Pines, could you testify to the court about what you saw on the night of the theft?” the judge asked. “And, I hope I needn’t remind you, but you are required by law not to withhold information that may benefit or work against your great uncle.”

 

_ “That’s the smartest thing the Judge has said all day,”  _ Phoenix thought.  _ “Too bad it works against the defence, as usual.” _

 

**_/Witness Testimony: The Night of the Crime/_ **

 

“I was up on the roof on the night of the theft. Around 11:00pm I saw Grunkle Stan exit the Mystery Shack and wander to the back. Then he grabbed a cart and took off into the woods. I must have fallen asleep because I never saw him return until the next morning when he was at breakfast.”

 

“Mr. Wright, you may begin your cross-examination,” the judge said. “I shouldn’t need to remind you that just like the Steel Samurai case, you are talking to a child. I will not hesitate to give you a harsh penalty if you step out of line.”

 

“Y-yes, Your Honour.”

 

**_/Cross-Examination: The Night of the Crime/_ **

 

**“I was up on the roof on the night of the theft.”**

 

“ _ Hold it! _ What were you doing on the roof?” Phoenix asked.

 

Dipper shrugged. “Studying floating eyeballs. I’m filling in journal 3 while the original author is, as far as I know, on retirement leave.”

 

The judge blinked. “Floating… eyeballs?”

 

“Gravity Falls is filled with weirdness,” Dipper said. “It’s like a focal point for some other dimension or something.”

 

“Classic stupid Pines,” Gideon laughed. “As you can see, my witness is what one would call a, ahem, conspiracy theorist. Him and that  _ journal _ of his have been plaguing my plans for far too long.”

 

“And what exactly is this ‘Journal 3’?” the judge asked.

 

“A book I found in the woods at the start of summer on all the weirdness and creatures that the original author studied,” Dipper said.

 

_ Journal 3 added to the court record: A book of weirdness that Dipper writes his journeys in. Used the night of the crime to record data on ‘floating eyeballs’. _

 

**“Around 11:00pm I saw Grunkle Stan exit the Mystery Shack and wander to the back. Then he grabbed a cart and took off into the woods.”**

 

“And what exactly was Stan Pines doing?” Phoenix asked.

 

“Objection! The witness just stated he saw Mr. Pines grab a cart and go into the woods, which you should know unless you’re grasping so hard your brain fell out of your head!” Gideon sneered.

 

_ “Urgh. I probably should wait before pressing this statement more. Gideon must have something up his stubby little sleeve, I can feel it. There’s a contradiction in Dipper’s blackmailed testimony, but I just can’t see it…”  _ Phoenix thought.

 

**“I must have fallen asleep because I never saw him return until the next morning when he was at breakfast.”**

 

“Mr. Wright, if you don’t have any contradictions with the witness’s testimony, then please let us conclude the trial,” the judge said.

 

_ “Crap, I need to find something…”  _ Phoenix thought.

 

“Something’s off,” Mabel said. 

 

Phoenix turned to her. “What?”

 

“I can tell when Dipper’s lying because of how stiff, sweaty, and nervous he gets. Even on the biggest secrets I still noticed his habits. But this time…” Mabel narrowed her eyes. “He’s lying, Grunkle Stan never left the shack, but he’s not showing any signs. He’d have to at least put a hand on Journal 3 to stay this calm- wait…”

 

Mabel’s eyes widened and she gasped, grabbing Phoenix’s arm and shaking it with wild vigour. 

 

“Ow Mabel, what the-?!” 

 

“Oh my gosh the Journal Mr. Wright!!!” Mabel cried. 

 

“Mabel you’re not making any sense-”

 

“Is everything alright, Mr. Wright?” the judge asked.

 

“Um, one moment please, Your Honour!” Phoenix bent down to Mabel’s level (more like he was dragged by her energetic tugging, but hey, who’s counting). “What about the journal?”

 

Mabel was squealing so much Phoenix worried if she was getting enough air. “My bro always writes everything about weirdness into Journal 3; he never leaves without it! I just remembered something else that’s been bugging him other than the glasses! Grunkle Stan borrowed it again a few days ago, and ever since Dipper and I haven’t gone on any crazy adventures (though we did almost die the day of the theft falling into a monster lair so maybe the break was good).” Mabel shook Phoenix’s arm again. “Dipper didn’t have it on him! And he wouldn’t study anything without it!”

 

Phoenix nodded, his mind racing. “So if he didn’t have the journal, he wouldn’t have studied floating eyeballs that night, meaning he had no reason to be out on the roof! I knew it, Gideon’s forcing him to fake it!”

 

“And it makes sense what Gideon’s blackmailing him over!” Mabel said. “Gideon’s been wanting Dipper’s journal since forever!”

 

“But how do we prove that Dipper didn’t have the journal?” Phoenix mused. “Stan could have given it back at any time.”

 

Mabel shook her head. “He couldn’t! Dipper was looking all over for his journal after our big adventure on the night of the theft; forgot where it was since he usually has it on him at all times plus we might have sort of almost died multiple times. Still don’t know how we got out of that last scrap. Anyway, I asked Grunkle Stan for it because I wanted to help Dipper relax, but he wandered off to town for a bit before I could give it to him. Then Wendy came over and we decided to make a puzzle for Dipper since he was bummed out over the whole smashed laptop and lack of sleep thing. We hid the journal in the cashier using a log entry into the inventory list, but since the whole theft I might’ve accidentally forgotten about it and it’s still there!”

 

Phoenix grinned. “Mabel, you are an absolute genius! The inventory list proves that the journal was there since before the theft! Where is it?”   
  


“I’m not that good with the mechanics, but there’s an electronic gizmo-something copy.” Mabel scratched her head. “Wendy told me it takes a while to print and verify though, so the trial might get delayed.”

 

Phoenix nodded. “Even better; we can dig up some dirt on Gideon’s blackmail and Edgeworth can help us defend Stan.”  _ “And I can try to solve Dipper’s Psyche-Locks.” _

 

Ending the little meeting, Phoenix popped back over the defence bench. “Your Honour, I do have a contradiction in the witness’s testimony.”   
  


“WHAT?!?” Gideon shrieked.

 

“But first,” Phoenix said, struggling to contain his smirk, “I would like the witness to clarify something. Dipper, you said you were watching for floating eyeballs. Did you happen to have Journal 3 on you at the time?”

 

Dipper nodded. “Of course, I always write all my reports about weirdness in that journal. Never do anything without it!”

 

“Could you please add that to your testimony?” Phoenix asked.

 

“Your Honour, that is completely irrelevant to this case!” Gideon sputtered. 

 

“Hmmm, knowing Mr. Wright, he has something up his sleeve,” the judge said. “I believe he knows what he is doing this time. Very well, add this statement to the testimony.”

 

**“I was studying floating eyeballs from the roof and was writing everything down in Journal 3. I never leave or do anything without it, including weirdness reports.”**

 

“OBJECTION!” Phoenix slammed his hands on the bench, startling the crowd. “You never do anything without your journal, right, Dipper? Then how could you record this weirdness report if you  **never had Journal 3 that day?** ”

 

The courtroom burst into surprised gasps and chatter. Through the noise, Phoenix heard the faint sound of a Psyche-Lock breaking. He smiled. One down, four to go.

 

“ORDER! ORDER!” the judge yelled. “Mr. Wright, what is the meaning of this?!?”

 

“The truth is simple, Your Honour,” Phoenix said. “On July 13th, the witness did not have access to Journal 3 as he claims, as it was locked in the cash register of the Mystery Shack by Mabel Pines and Wendy Corduroy as part of a puzzle to cheer up the witness.”   
  


Dipper had a look of surprise on his face. “Journal 3 was…”

 

“Ha! Likely story!” Gideon sneered. “Do you have any proof? Any evidence? Any-”

 

“I’m glad you asked, Gideon,” Phoenix said. “Your Honour, the defence requests for the check and reading of the Mystery Shack inventory log.”

 

“Your Honour, that would delay the trial until tomorrow! Besides, whether the witness had or didn’t have Journal 3 is irrelevant; it’s just a dumb book-”

 

“Not so fast, Gideon,” Phoenix said. “The witness has stated very clearly that he would never study weirdness without access to the journal. Multiple other witnesses have confirmed that this is true, and they’ve confirmed that you yourself deem Journal 3 valuable, as you pursued it multiple times to match your own Journal 2. If all this is true (which the investigation on the inventory would prove), then the witness could not have been on the roof and therefore could not have seen Stan Pines whether he exited the Mystery Shack or not, completely discrediting Dipper Pines as a witness!”

 

Gideon could do nothing but sputter furiously in response. 

 

_ “Give it up Gideon, I know you’re blackmailing Dipper for the journal,”  _ Phoenix thought as he heard the second snap of a Psyche-Lock over the sound of Gideon’s temper tantrum.

 

“Very well, Mr. Wright,” the judge said. “The trial of Stan Pines has been suspended to tomorrow in light of this new evidence.”

 

Gideon nearly jumped onto the prosecution bench in his shrieking fit. “YOUR HONOUR, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, YOU CAN’T-” 

 

The judge cocked an eyebrow. “Mr. Gleeson, is there a reason you’re so adamant in using this witness?”

 

Phoenix barely managed to cover his mouth before he could burst into laughter. For all his clueless and unprofessional behaviours, the judge had his moments of unbelievable clarity. He’d hit the nail on the head; Gideon’s squirming as he tried to come up with an excuse was all the confirmation Phoenix needed.

 

Gideon sputtered out a flustered, “Your Honour-!”

 

“If not Mr. Gleeson, then court is dismissed.” The judge banged his gavel, ending any further arguments Gideon could have made.

 

As the town members filled out of the courtroom, Gideon stormed toward Phoenix. 

 

“This is not the last of this, Mr. Phoenix Wrong,” Gideon hissed, pointing a pudgy finger at Phoenix in an attempt at intimidation. 

 

Phoenix merely rolled his eyes at the kid who was barely over eye-level with his knees. “Let me tell you something a great attorney once told me, Gideon.  **_‘_ ** **_In the courtroom, proof is everything. Without it, you have nothing. You ARE nothing.’_ ** Faking evidence isn’t going to get you anywhere, so bring it on.”

 

Gideon glared at him before spinning on his heel and waltzing off with a huff and his head held high.

 

“Oh, and Gideon?” Phoenix called. “You’ll have to come up with another nickname, I’m afraid that one’s already been done before.”

 

“Whoa Mr. Wright, that was so cool!” Mabel cheered.

 

Once the courtroom was cleared Phoenix let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Mabel. All those practices of bluffing really paid off. I can’t believe we got the judge to extend the trial. Usually it takes so much more to convince him.”

 

“He must have started seeing through Gideon’s fraudy attitude,” Mabel teased with a smile.

 

Phoenix laughed as they made their way to the court lobby. “An absolute miracle. Now at least we have time to further investigate Wax Stan and whatever else Gideon’s trying to cover up, plus we’ll have Edgeworth on our side. The only thing left to do for now is talk to-”

 

“Dipper!” Mabel called upon spotting her brother walking down the hallway toward them.

 

“Hey Mabel, hey Mr. Wright,” Dipper said. “Sorry about what happened in the courtroom.”

 

“No worries!” Mabel said before Phoenix could answer. “We figured Gideon would pull something as nasty as this!”

 

Dipper blinked. “What?”

 

“Blackmail of course!” Mabel said, giving Dipper a light punch in the arm. “Don’t worry bro-bro, your secret’s safe with us. We’ll help you turn that frown upside down!”

 

“Oh, that,” Dipper said. “You know about that. Yeah, Gideon said he knew where Journal 3 was; he said he had it. I can’t believe it was right under my nose the whole time back in the shack!” He paused before added, “Plus he blackmailed me over Grunkle Stan and whatnot. Good thing the ‘notes’ he prepared me were full of holes.”

 

“One thing that’s been bugging me, Dipper. You said you saw Stan leave the shack before Gideon showed up,” Phoenix said.

 

“Oh, that? I saw him leave from the window in the attic at one point but only to dump some broken pieces of a shelf outside,” Dipper said.

 

“I knew it! You’re a terrible liar bro-bro!” Mabel said. “I’m gonna go grab some ice cream to celebrate today’s victory, be back soon!” She skipped out of the room with a hum, stopping only to say, “I’ll get you strawberry, Mr. Wright, I hope that’s okay!” before she was gone.

 

Phoenix decided this was his best chance to check on the Psyche-Locks. Putting one hand on the magatama in his pocket, he saw that there was still two red locks and the black lock.  _ “So there IS more to this than Dipper’s letting on…” _

 

“So Dipper,” Phoenix asked casually. “Do you have any guesses as to who the real culprit is? Mabel tells me you’re good with theories.”

 

“Sure,” Dipper said. “It was probably Gideon or a set-up by the government to catch Grunkle Stan. He’s done some other shady stuff before; his idea of ‘family bonding’ is having Mabel and me draw counterfeit money. Don’t know if he used it or not, kinda don’t want to know.”

 

The black lock was trembling a bit, not enough to be breaking soon but a hint to its meaning.

 

“Do you think Stan really did it?” Phoenix pressed.

 

“Hmm. Not really, but someone I know has this motto of ‘Trust No One’ that rings truer for some people than others, wouldn’t you say?” Dipper said.

 

One of the red locks moved this time. Not a lie, but something… off. It was all connected; Phoenix had a feeling all the locks would break at once if he found the right contradiction. He just had to get Dipper to slip up.

 

“Still, what would Stan or Gideon gain from stealing those barrels?” Phoenix asked.

 

Dipper shrugged. “Who knows?”

 

Two of the locks were trembling harder now; Phoenix had found the weak point, he just needed to get Dipper to reveal what he knew. And he had just the plan.

 

“Personally, I think Gideon was messing with Stan, trying to get him pinned for the blame,” Phoenix said. “What do you think?”

 

If you want a conspiracy theorist to spill, get them into a debate of opinions.

 

“Wealth, maybe? Grunkle Stan could sell the barrels for a quick buck,” Dipper said, looking away from Phoenix as he was lost in thought.

 

“Wealth? There’s no way those barrels would be worth the risk,” Phoenix argued.

 

“Ha! You don’t know Stan!” Dipper said with a laugh. “Infiltrating a small government base for a few Endohedral Fullerenes is nothing for him!”

 

“But the amount of trouble you could get into for breaking into a government faci...lit...y… wait…” Phoenix stopped. No way. Dipper didn’t just say… that was impossible for him to know. But if it worked and broke the Psyche-Locks...

 

Not really knowing what he was doing, Phoenix pointed a finger at Dipper. “That information was classified. The only way you could know about it is if you saw the barrels yourself, in person! You know more than you’re letting on.”

 

Phoenix waited a moment while Dipper was silent, a bit confused about where this was going but confident that Dipper would confess that he knew more than he was letting on. He was like Cody in a way, wasn’t he; just a kid a bit over his head.

 

Oh boy, he could not be more wrong.

 

Dipper started laughing; a higher-pitched, almost insane noise. Phoenix panicked;  _ ‘Oh shoot, was I wrong? Did I accidentally break the poor kid?’ _

 

There was a flurry of snaps, and the rest of the Psyche-Locks broke away. The thick chains unravelled, disappearing and clearing the room. “Well well well, you’re smarter than you look, Spiky!” Dipper said, his voice a slightly higher, almost mocking tone. “In fact, I’d say you’re as observant as Pine Tree!”

 

Phoenix was caught off guard. “S-Spiky?!? What-”

 

“Where are my manners?” Dipper said, reaching for his sunglasses. “Allow me to introduce myself!”

 

_ ‘I’m getting serious Matt Engarde vibes here.’  _ Phoenix thought.

 

Dipper pulled off the sunglasses and Phoenix took a step back. Dipper’s expression was… unnatural; an impossibly wide smile with teeth that looked almost sharp split across his face, and his eyes.... his eyes were yellow. Not just iris colour; the whole eye was yellow, with a slitted pupil like some sort of deranged cat. 

 

Dipper(?) stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Spiky.”

 

As Phoenix, reeling from shock and surprise, reached to shake his hand, Mabel bounced through the door behind him. “Hey Mr. Wright, hey Dipper! I’m back-” She stopped mid-bounce, staring at Dipper. The popsicles in her hands dropped to the floor.

 

Before Phoenix knew what was happening, Mabel pulled him back with more strength than he expected the kid to have. She slapped his arm down and gave Dipper(?) a whole-hearted glare that would rival Miles Edgeworth. 

 

“Don’t shake his hand, Mr. Wright.” Mabel’s voice had lost it’s usual bubbly happiness, growling colder than when she spoke to Gideon. 

 

Dipper(?) laughed again. “Long time no see, Shooting Star. Relax, I just wanted to make the trial a bit more…  _ interesting _ .” 

 

“Mabel, what’s going on?” Phoenix asked, turning his head from one twin to the other in confusion. “Why are you fighting with your brother?”

 

“That’s not my brother,” Mabel said. She muttered something.

 

“Did you just say ‘Bipper’?” Phoenix asked, an eyebrow raised in bewilderment.

 

“Still using that name, huh Shooting Star?” Dipper (Bipper?) said. “It’s fine for this form I suppose, but you can call me…”

 

Phoenix blinked and for a second Dipper/Bipper was wearing a different outfit; a long black suit, white dress suit, and a small black top hat. Then Phoenix blinked again, and Dipper(?) was back in his normal clothes. Dipper(?) tipped his baseball cap.

 

“Bill Cipher.”

  
  



	6. Chapter 6: An Ally, a Friend, and A Threat

_ July 16, 2:04pm - The Gravity Falls ‘Courtroom’ Lobby _

 

Phoenix was used to ‘weird’. It was a term used loosely around, with, and about him. From crazy prosecutors, wild witnesses like Larry Butz and Wendy Oldbag, and the ever-complicated murder plots, Phoenix was prepared for anything.

 

Well, almost anything. Apparently possessing dream demons were not on the list of ‘things and people he expected to encounter’. _ I wonder why. _

 

For the meantime, Phoenix was royally confused.

 

Mabel and ‘Bipper’ stared each other down. The only thing crazier then the amount of venom in Mabel’s glare was the inhuman yellow tint of Bipper’s eyes.

 

“What’s going on? Who’s this?”

 

“Nice to finally meet the famous defence attorney face to face! I’ve been keeping an eye on you!”

 

“Mr. Wright, don’t trust him!” Mabel said. “He’s a possessing dream demon that once invaded Grunkle Stan’s mind, took over Dipper’s body during my puppet show, and fought me over the journal! He must have tricked my brother into giving up his body again!”

 

“Dream… demon?” Mabel’s explanation only seemed to leave more questions. “Puppet show?” The closest Phoenix could get to wrapping his head around the situation was comparing it to spirit channelling, but even then, this was mind-boggling.

 

“Shooting Star, relax! I’m not here to fight you again. If it wasn’t for Pine Tree making a deal with me, I wouldn’t be here!” Bipper said with a roll of his wrist.

 

Phoenix scratched his head in confusion. “...Pine Tree?” 

 

“Dipper,” Mabel said.

 

“Oh. And these deals…?

 

“He only exists in this weird dreamy place,” Mabel said. “He uses deals to affect our world with his powers, or in Dipper’s case, possess bodies and directly do stuff.”

 

“Wright again, Shooting Star. But relax this time. Your brother’s gotten smarter; I’m limited in what I can do.” Bipper’s grin somehow managed to stretch even more, bordering between sincere and insane. “I’m just here to help.” 

 

“Likely story- you just want the journal!” Mabel cried.

 

“Ha! I wish,” Bipper laughed; the sound sent a chill down Phoenix’s spine. “Pine Tree fulfilled his end of the deal by letting me use his body; now I have to fulfill mine.” 

 

“Which is what exactly?” Phoenix asked.

 

“Keep up, Spiky! I know you're new to this but sheesh- for an ace attorney you can be a bit slow on the uptake,” Bipper said. “I’m here to help solve the case.”

 

“Then why did you falsely testify against Stan?” Phoenix asked.

 

Bipper shrugged, never dropping the smile. “Lil’ Gideon had some dirt on Pine Tree or something and I thought I’d do him a small  _ favour _ and play along. Gideon’s horrible at making deals, but I have to hand it to him, he’s crafty. Plus I did you guys a solid and stopped Gideon from getting up to anything else in the meantime.” Bipper’s eyes seemed to bore into Phoenix’s with a knowing gleam as he continued with, “Prosecutors will do anything for a victory, eh Spiky?”

 

“If you’re only here to help, why not say anything sooner?” Mabel asked, still not 100% convinced.

 

Bipper laughed again. “Oh yeah, like I could just say ‘oh by the way Shooting Star, how’s it going, it’s me Bill possessing your brother again, but don’t worry I’m just here to help this time’ without getting another journal slap to the face. Pine Tree thought it would be easier to just fake being him as I helped you catch the real thief.”

 

“So you really are here to help?” Mabel asked, slowly uncrossing her arms. “You believe Grunkle Stan’s innocent?”

 

“Kid I  _ know _ he’s innocent. I know lots of things.” Phoenix swore he heard a demented echo of ‘lots of things’. “That’s the deal I made with Pine Tree and I gotta keep my end of the bargain.”

 

“That…  _ does _ seem like something my brother would do…” Mabel said slowly. “He didn’t tell me though…” 

 

“Look, I know you don’t trust me; smart move,” Bipper said. “But your brother made a deal that he felt was the only way to save Fez. He wanted to keep it on the ‘down-low’ because he didn’t want you to worry. It was just supposed to be quick in, solve the case, and quick out; no one would ever know. I didn’t expect your court system to be so complicated. Where I’m from we don’t even have a court! If I ever hosted a trial, I’d make all the jury members the same person and make the judge easily convincible like a cat or that weird overly-American guy in town.”

 

Phoenix had the feeling that any trial hosted by this ‘Bill Cypher’ would be terrifying. He hadn’t even known the guy (demon? evil triangle?) for more than 10 minutes and he already felt completely unnerved.

 

“Point is,” Bipper said, cleaning the sunglasses in his hand, “I’ve been doing some investigations on my own and found some interesting stuff about this case. I’m close to figuring out some major answers and I don’t need Gideon gettin’ in my way. Throwing off Gideon was a cinch. Now I just need to solve the theft!”

 

Mabel nodded. “So what have you figured out so far? If we pool our information, we can prove Grunkle Stan’s innocence and let my bro back into his body sooner!” She looked around. “Speaking of Dipper, where is he?”

 

“Since we made a proper deal I didn’t cast him into the mindscape,” Bipper said. “If we’re being honest here I don’t really know how this part works. No one in their right mind gave me access to their body this way before! I have to hand it to Pine Tree, he’s got smarts.”

 

A slow smile crept onto Mabel’s face as she relaxed, still a bit wary but dropping the cold shoulder. “You still kinda suck Bill, but we have to work together if we want to help Grunkle Stan!”

 

“Yeah, the power of friendship and all that,” Bipper said with another roll of his wrist. He paused, flexing his wrist with curiosity. “Boy, these wrists sure are durable. They almost make a full circle-” Noticing Mabel’s look, he laughed and stopped stretching. “Not that I’d do anything, ‘specially with this deal. Just been a long time since I’ve inhabited a body, remember? Didn’t have much peace of mind during your little puppet show. Sorry for ruining it by the way, I loved the ending. The part where Gabe has to fight in the war gets me every time!”

 

“So you found some more information on the case,” Phoenix said, hoping to get the conversation back on track. 

 

Bipper nodded. “I did. I’ve got my suspicions one which meat sack framed Fez, but…” He glanced down the hallways. “Not here. Too many ears and eyes watching us.” He slipped back on the sunglasses and finally let his grin drop back to normal human range. “Later. I can show you some interesting things I found in the woods, but I’ll tell you when it’s clear.”

 

“Let me guess; Gideon?” 

 

“Gideon, the government, powerful forces, you name it; someone very powerful is against us and we need to be careful. I’ll see you back at the shack; gonna go take what you human’s call a ‘ _ walk for fun _ ’. And you say we demons are the crazy ones!” Bipper said, walking down the hallway. He paused to look over his shoulder at Phoenix. “Remember this Spiky; don’t believe everything you see, the eagle is a lie, buy gold, area 51 isn’t as secure as they think, the truth is out there, and of course,  **T R U S T  N O O N E** .”

 

With a wave of his hand, Bipper walked off, leaving a faint echo of his statements in his wake. Out of everything Phoenix had expected to find after cracking the Psyche-Locks, this was… definitely not anywhere close.

 

“So that was…” Phoenix struggled for words.

 

“Kray Kray? Wack? Complete and utter bogus?” Mabel asked.

 

Phoenix laughed. “All of the above.”

 

“I don’t think I can really trust Bill, especially after last time…” Mabel said. “I should probably hide the journal when we get to the shack just in case.”

 

“Good idea,” Phoenix agreed. “Why don’t we head there now to get there first? You can catch me up in more detail on this ‘Bill’ guy and what the heck ‘Bipper’ is.”

 

_ July 16, 2:58pm - The Mystery Shack _

 

When they arrived at the Mystery Shack, Mabel immediately ran inside. The court officials were already testing the register, having the advantage of not having to talk to a dream demon after the court and therefore arriving before Phoenix and Mabel. Once the journal was cleared for use, Mabel took off with it. Phoenix had no clue where she’d hidden it, but a few minutes later, after Phoenix had gotten himself something called a ‘Pitt Soda’ from the vending machine, Mabel returned with a triumphant smile.

 

There was the screech of tires against dirt outside, and there was a knock at the door. Mabel and Phoenix exchanged curious glances (who the heck formally knocked at a gift-shop?) before Mabel skipped to the door and opened it. She gave the visitor a look before gasping and squealing in excitement. 

 

“Mr. Wright, Mr. Wright!” she yelled. “I think your boyfriend is here!”

 

Luckily for Phoenix, the officials had already left to bring the reports for testing, though that didn’t stop his face from going beet-red. 

 

“Mabel!” Phoenix hissed, stumbling to the door in embarrassment as someone chuckled.

 

And there he was, the man in rich burgundy himself. “Nice to see you too, Phoenix,” Edgeworth said, a small smile and faint blush on his face. 

 

“Likewise, Miles,” Phoenix said, recovering in an absolutely flawless and smooth manner  **(cough cough yeah right)** .

 

“I take it you must be Wright’s client?” Edgeworth said, turning to Mabel who was visibly shaking from trying to contain her excitement.

 

“HiI’mMabelPinesit’swonderfultofinallymeetyouMr.Edgeworththisissocoolandexcietingand-”

 

“Whoa Mabel slow down!” a new voice said as a familiar red-head walked into the shop; Wendy. 

 

Mabel took a deep breath before starting again. “Hi I’m Mabel Pines, it’s wonderful to finally meet you Mr. Edgeworth!”

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Ms. Pines,” Edgeworth replied, sticking out his hand.

 

Mabel shook it with furious energy. Edgeworth merely smiled a bit wider in surprise. Phoenix tried to keep his smirk down at the sight of Edgeworth’s formality being rivalled by Mabel’s childish enthusiasm.

 

“Saw the trial. Great job today,” Wendy said to Phoenix as Mabel instantly started chatting Edgeworth’s ear off over everything from asking questions about something she called ‘wrightworth’ to talking about the events of the last few days. 

 

“Thanks,” Phoenix said.

 

“Hey Mabel, hey ya Red, hey ‘Mr. Wright’, hey new person,” Bipper said, striding through the door. Phoenix was glad they had stepped on it to get to the shack first, especially after hearing the lengths Bill had gone through to get the journal in the past. He may be working with him for now, but it never hurt to be careful.

 

Wendy raised an eyebrow at the nickname but said nothing. Phoenix guessed she hadn’t been told about Bipper or even knew about Bill.

 

“Oh! Mr. Edgeworth, this is my brother, Dipper!” Mabel said, pushing Bipper forward with a grin and subtly keeping his right arm pinned to stop him from shaking hands.

 

“Pleasure to meet you as well,” Edgeworth said. Phoenix made a mental note to tell Edgeworth about Bipper immediately; whether Bill was supposed to be kept on the down-low or was on their side didn’t matter, he wanted to warn Edgeworth to be careful just in case.

 

The five of them (plus Soos, who joined them about twenty minutes later with a basket of snacks from the grocery store) sat down and chatted about the trial. Wendy and Soos pointed out that they’d noticed imprints in the palms of Wax Stan’s hands, and upon further investigation proved to fit the theory of the cart pushing photo. Soos also mentioned that the cart was most likely from the grocery store in town and handed Phoenix a photo he’d made of the carts. It didn’t really help, but at least now they knew the cart was easily accessible to anyone in town.

 

Wendy suggested grabbing a bite to eat at Lazy Susan’s diner. Phoenix and Edgeworth agreed after a chant rose among Wendy, Soos, Mabel, and Bipper (playing the part) over ‘Pancakes for Dinner! Pancakes for Dinner!’ Before they left, Bipper pulled Phoenix to the side and whispered to meet him in the forest behind the shack in private after dinner to discuss the information he’d found on the case, as that would throw off Gideon and the others watching them.

 

One diner trip later, after the sun had begun to set and the first stars had appeared in the sky, the squad of six pulled back into the Mystery Shack parking. After a bit more chatting in the shack, Bipper excused himself and slunk away into the forest, giving Phoenix a knowing glance and a wink. Mabel headed off to bed soon after, promising to make everyone glasses of ‘Mabel Juice’ in the morning. Once her footsteps pounded up the stairs Wendy shuddered and warned the two attorneys to stay far away from the stuff.

 

Soos and Wendy soon left as well to get home before it was too dark. Edgeworth, who Phoenix had talked to privately about the whole ‘Bipper’ situation during dinner, made his way to the other guest room before stopping.

 

“Be careful walking in the woods at night,” Edgeworth said. “With those thick trees the visibility will be low and I don’t want you falling and injuring yourself.”

 

“Or getting myself suspected of murder,” Phoenix said with a tease. Edgeworth gave him a wry smile. “I’ll be careful, don’t worry.”

 

“With you, I’m always worried. Goodnight Phoenix.”   
  


“Goodnight Miles.”

 

Once he left Phoenix set out to the forest. Edgeworth was wright, the moonlight was thin between the trees and Phoenix nearly stepped into a massive hole next to a sign that said ‘Bottomless Pit’. Shaking it off, he continued down a trail leading deeper into the woods. He arrived at a clearing but saw no one. Bipper either left to see what was taking him so long or was waiting somewhere deeper in the forest. Phoenix continued walking, checking his watch from time to time and debating turning back, not wanting to get lost. His curiosity was spiked though, and he couldn’t risk losing this chance to get more information. If this was the only time he could slip under Gideon’s radar, then so be it.

 

Phoenix had just decided that he must have passed the meeting spot and was about to turn back when his foot caught a patch of dirt that slid away, tipping him sideways. He stumbled, trying to keep his balance, but the loose dirt dropped away and pitching him over the edge of a ditch. It was impossible to see how deep the ditch was, but Phoenix guessed it would be one hell of a painful tumble. 

 

Someone reached to catch him as he tipped into the ditch, and he grabbed their hand. As he was pulled forward out of danger, the moon peeked through the clouds. Caught in the slivers of moonlight were two circular yellow lights burning in the dark. His saviour’s face lit up in the light and Phoenix felt a foreboding chill race down his back; 

 

Bipper. 

 

With a sharklike, inhuman grin and a vicious, taunting gleam in his yellow eyes, he looked triumphant, even dangerous. Bipper pulled him out of the ditch, but Phoenix kept falling forward with a ripping, tugging sensation. The forest flashed grey, the colours rushing back with dizzying speed as Phoenix was sent crashing to the ground. He turned, rubbing his head, and there, slumped over next to an unconscious Dipper, was… himself?

 

The other Phoenix picked himself off the floor and grinned. The real Phoenix stared at him as the imposter opened his eyes... his yellow, slitted eyes. 

 

“It’s funny how dumb you are,” Bill-Phoenix said.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note, this is a reason why Bill can swap without making a deal; it's because of a loophole in the deal he made with Dipper (it will be explained in the next chapter). Hope you enjoyed!


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